9. Delete comments

Whether you need to hide an offensive comment or erase a typo, deleting comments is easy.

How to delete your own comment:

Tap the speech bubble icon beneath the post you commented on

Find the comment you’d like to delete

Swipe to the left over the comment

Tap the trash can icon

How to delete another user’s comment on your post:

Tap the speech bubble icon beneath the post containing the comment you’d like to delete

Swipe to the left over the comment

A partial swipe will bring up a trio of options, allowing you to reply, flag, or delete a comment

Tap the trash can icon—or continue swiping to the left—to delete the comment

10. Filter and block comments based on keywords

Dealing with a social media troll? Comment controls allow you to filter and block comments containing specific keywords.

How to do it:

Go to your profile and tap the hamburger menu.

Tap Settings.

Tap Privacy and Security.

Tap Comment Controls.

Make sure that Hide Offensive Comments is turned on.

Tap next to Manual Filter to turn it on.

Enter specific words, phrases, numbers or emoji in the text box to filter out comments.

When you turn on comment filtering, it’s applied to both new and existing comments on your posts. When you turn off comment filtering, filtered comments on your posts will be restored.

11. Turn off comments on a particular post

How to do it:

Begin posting a photo or video as usual

When you reach the screen where you add a caption, location, and other tags, select Advanced Settings

Toggle the Turn Off Commenting option on

Note: you can change this setting even after a post has been published by going to the post, tapping the three dot icon above it, and selecting Turn On Commenting. You can also turn off comments on a previously published post by following these same steps.

12. Reply to comments faster

Do your followers ask a lot of the same questions? For example: “When will this be back in stock?” or “What are your holiday hours?”

A handy hack exists for iOS users that will help you reply to these types of questions quickly and efficiently.

How to do it:

On your Instagram profile, tap the hamburger menu and then Settings.

Tap General and then Keyboard.

Tap Text Replacement.

Here, you’ll see a list of pre-populated keyboard shortcuts. Click the + sign in the upper right corner.

In the Phrase section, type the generic response you would like to create (e.g., “Hi! We’re open from 9 am to 3 pm on Memorial Day.).

In the Shortcut section, type a word or abbreviation that will represent that full phrase, like “MemorialDay”.

Anytime you want to use that specific comment, type out your shortcut and your phone will automatically populate the full phrase.

13. Save and organize posts where only you can see them

The perfect hack for squirrelling away bits of inspiration. Or use this feature to keep tabs on your competitors.

How to do it:

Go to a post you’d like to save

Tap the bookmark icon underneath the post you want to save

Add the post to an existing collection or tap the + icon to create and name a new one

To see your saved posts and collections, visit your profile and tap the hamburger menu. Then tap Saved.

14. Remove old posts from your profile without deleting them

This is possible thanks to Instagram’s archive feature.

How to do it:

Tap … at the top of the post you want to remove

Select Archive

Tap the Archive icon in the top right corner of your profile to review all archived posts

If you want to restore content to your public profile, simply tap Show on Profile at any time and it’ll show up in its original spot

15. Zoom in on a post

How to do it:

Go to the post you’d like to zoom in on

Pinch using two fingers and slowing the pull them farther apart

Enjoy the details

16. View how much time you’ve spent on Instagram

How to do it:

Go to your profile and tap the hamburger menu.

Tap Your Activity

17. Set a reminder to limit your time on Instagram

Only want to spend a certain amount of time on Instagram per day? Set a reminder to let you know when your time is up.

How to do it:

Go to your profile and tap the hamburger menu.

Tap Settings.

Tap Account > Your Activity > Set Daily Reminder.

Choose an amount of time and tap Set Reminder.

18. Customize which notifications you receive

Want to only receive certain types of notifications? Or pause them all together. It’s easy to do that.

How to do it:

Go to your profile and tap the hamburger menu.

Tap Your Activity.

Tap Notification Settings.

Click into each notification category to opt out of specific notifications. Go to Pause All and toggle on to pause all notifications.

Instagram hacks for photo and video sharing

19. Make your captions more readable with line breaks

If you favor the long-form caption a la National Geographic, this hack will make your posts more readable.

How to do it:

Edit your photo and proceed to the caption screen

Write your caption

To access the Return key, tap the 123 key on your device’s keyboard

Use Return to add breaks to your caption

Note: The breaks will start a new line, but not create the white space that you would see between two paragraphs. If you want a paragraph break, write out your caption in a note app and copy it to Instagram. To break up lines further, consider using punctuation, such as bullet points or dashes, to hold the place of an empty line.

Note: To delete a post from your saved posts, select Manage to go to Drafts, then tap Edit. Select the posts you’d like to get rid of and tap Discard Posts at the bottom of the screen, then tap again to confirm.

Bonus:Download a free checklist that reveals the exact steps a lifestyle photographer used to grow from 0 to 600,000 followers on Instagram with no budget and no expensive gear.

Brands can use this feature when partnering with other businesses or influencers for announcements, Instagram takeovers, and the like. Or, encourage your followers to join a live Q&A you’re hosting.

How to request to join a live video:

When watching a live video, tap Request in the comments section

You’ll see a confirmation when the user accepts and you’ll have a moment to prepare

Once you’re live, the screen will split in half

You can leave the live video at any time

How to accept a request from a follower to join your live video:

When hosting your own live video, you’ll see a notification for each request in the comments section

Tap View and then choose to add the requestor or cancel the request

The icon with two smiley faces will have a red number showing how many requests you have

Tap the icon, and you’ll see both requests and current viewers

You can either accept a request or invite any viewer to join you. You can remove a guest and add someone else at any time

28. Save your live video

How to do it:

After your live broadcast ends, tap Save in the upper right corner

After saving, tap Done and your live video will be saved to your camera roll but will no longer be available in the app

Instagram Story hacks

29. Record video hands-free

How to do it:

Swipe right from your home screen to open the Instagram Stories camera

Swipe through the options at the bottom of the screen—normal, Boomerang, etc.—and stop at the HANDS-FREE recording option

Tap the record button at the bottom of the screen to begin recording

To stop recording, either let the maximum time run out or tap the capture button again

30. Add as much text as you want to posts in Stories

How to do it:

Swipe right from your home screen to go to the Instagram Stories camera

Snap an image or record a video

Tap the screen to add text OR tap the Aa icon in the upper right-hand corner

Write your desired text

Tap the > icon

Repeat as many times as needed to add more text

31. Change the color of individual letters or words in your text

How to do it:

Swipe right from your home screen to go to the Instagram Stories camera

Snap an image or record a video

Tap the screen to add text OR tap the Aa icon in the upper right-hand corner

Write your text as usual

Press and hold on a word or individual letter to select and highlight

Choose your desired color

Continue editing and share as usual

32. Change the colors or info displayed on a sticker

How to do it:

Select a sticker to add to your post

Tap it for different color options, or, in the case of things like the temperature sticker, you can choose between celsius and fahrenheit

33. Share someone else’s post in your feed on Instagram Stories

The Instagram Story version of a regram—great for sharing user-generated content or giving a shoutout to another relevant brand or influencer.

How to do it:

Click on the paper airplane icon below the post you want to share

Tap Add post to your story

The post will appear as a sticker with a custom background

You can rotate, scale, move the sticker, and tap it to explore other styles

Once you’re happy with how it looks, tap the Your Story button to add it to your post. The post will show original poster’s username. When someone taps the post, they’ll be able to see the original post and more content from the person who created it.

Note: You can only share posts from public accounts. If you don’t want your posts shared on Instagram Stories by other people, you can opt out in settings.

34. Add a soundtrack to your Story with Instagram’s music library

There are thousands of songs to choose from!

Once you taken a photo or video to add to your Story, tap the Stickers icon (folded smiley face) at the top of the screen

Then tap the MUSIC sticker from the menu to open Instagram’s music library

Choose your song by searching for a specific track or browse by mood, genre, or what’s trending

Tap play to preview the song before adding it to your Story

Once you’ve selected a song, you can fast-forward or rewind it to start it at a specific point

Finish adding to your post as usual and click the Your Story button at the bottom to publish it

35. Share a song or album from Spotify on Instagram Stories

Show off how hip your brand is.

How to do it:

Open the Spotify app

Find the song or album you want to share

Tap the three dots to open the options menu

Scroll down and tap Share

Tap Instagram Stories

This will open the Instagram app and you can add a sticker, text, or doodle to the image of the album you’re sharing (if you’re sharing a specific song, the app will still display the album it’s on)

Then tap Your Story to add the song

36. Get music recommendations with the questions sticker

Whether you want fresh music to get in the holiday mood, or new tunes to get you through the last few weeks of school, your friends can now help you find the perfect tracks.

How to do it:

Tap the square happy face on your Story to Add a questions sticker.

Tap the questions sticker and then tap the music icon to let people send you a song. People can tap the sticker in your Story, then type a question to ask you or send you a song.

When you view your own story and swipe up, you can see who responded. Tap a response from someone to share it. Their photo and username won’t be shown.

37. Save your entire Story to your camera roll

In case you want to publish it on a different channel at a later date.

How to do it:

Open your Story

Swipe up on the screen

Tap the arrow in a circle icon in the top right corner of the screen

Note: You can also save individual posts from your Story as you upload them by tapping the downward arrow icon in the bottom left corner of the screen. If you’ve already shared it, go to the photo or video you’d like to save, tap the three dots icon in the bottom right corner, and select Save Photo.

38. Share your Story to your profile

If your Story’s hot and you want everyone to see it—even those who don’t login during the 24 hours that it’s live—publish it on your profile.

How to do it:

Open your Story

Tap the three dots icon in the bottom right corner of the photo or video you’d like to share

Tap Share as Post

Edit—add filters, tags, a caption, etc.—and post as you normally would

39. Find out how your Story’s performing

Want to know how your Story’s doing? Check out this little-known feature to find out who’s watched it.

How to do it:

Open your Story

Swipe up on the screen

Instagram will display the number of views as well as the names of people who have seen each photo or video in your Story

40. Zoom in and out on videos with a single finger

How to do it:

Swipe right to open the Instagram Stories camera

Hold down the capture button with one finger to begin recording video

Slide up or down with the same finger to zoom in or out

41. Hide your Story from specific users

How to do it:

Method 1

Go to your profile and tap the hamburger menu.

Tap Settings.

Tap Privacy and Security > Story Controls.

Tap Hide Story From.

Select the people you’d like to hide your story from, then tap Done (iOS) or the checkmark symbol (Android).

To unhide your story from someone, tap the blue checkmark to unselect them.

Method 2

You can also choose people to hide your story from as you’re looking at who’s seen your story.

Tap the three horizontal dots (iOS) or the three vertical dots (Android) to the right of their name and select Hide Story From [Username].

Note: Hiding your story from someone is different from blocking them, and doesn’t prevent them from seeing your profile and posts.

42. Hide your Story from a location or hashtag

How to do it:

Tap Seen by on your Story.

Viewers who are seeing your story via a location or hashtag page will appear at the top.

Tap x to the right of a location or hashtag page to hide your story from it.

43. Only share your Story with close friends

Make a “close friends list” to share more personal moments with a smaller group that you choose.

How to create a “close friends list”:

Go to your profile and tap the hamburger menu

Tap Close Friends

Tap Add next to the people who you want to add to your close friends list. You can also tap Search to search for a friend.

Tap Done when you’ve finished adding people to your list.

You can update your list and remove people at any time. People won’t be notified when you add or remove them from your list.

How to share your Story with close friends:

Tap the camera icon in the top left or swipe right from anywhere in feed.

Tap the circle at the bottom of the screen to take a photo, or tap and hold to record a video. To choose a photo from your phone’s library or gallery, swipe up anywhere on the screen.

When you’re ready to share, tap Close Friends in the bottom left.

People on your close friends list will know they’re on it, but they can’t see who else is on your list. If someone has added you to their list, you’ll see a green badge when you’re viewing their stories and a green ring around their profile photo.

44. Hide someone’s Instagram Stories without unfollowing them

Whatever the reason, we all follow at least one account whose content we may not like but for some reason can’t unfollow. The solution? Muting their Instagram Stories.

How to do it:

Tap and hold on the Instagram Stories avatar of the account you’d like to mute.

Tap Mute. This moves the story to the end of the queue and prevents it from autoplaying.

To unmute, just tap and hold on the stories icon and tap Unmute.

45. Add a text-only post to your Story

A picture says a thousands words, but sometimes you only want to say a few words.

How to do it:

With Instagram Stories open, select Type under the capture button

Tap the screen and write your message

Click the button at the top-middle of the app to cycle through the various styles

Choose a background color and text color(s)

Press the > icon when you’re happy with the design to post it to your Story

46. Share any size photo or video without cutting anything out

Now you can share that wide-angle company photo without cutting out Gary from accounting.

How to do it:

Upload your large photo or video and pinch to zoom out to share the original dimensions

Any extra room will be filled with a custom color gradient that matches what you’re sharing

47. Pin your best Stories to the top of your profile

Brands can now keep their best Stories on their profiles for as long as they like with the Instagram Stories Highlights feature.

How to do it:

Tap the New circle at the far left on your Instagram for business profile

Choose any Stories from your archive (note: Stories from business profiles are automatically saved to the archive when they expire)

Select a cover icon for your Highlight and give it a name

Your Highlight will appear as a circle on your profile that plays as a stand-alone Story when someone taps it

To edit or remove a Highlight, tap and hold it on your profile

Note: Highlights stay on your profile until you remove them, and you can have as many Highlights as you’d like. Check out these free Highlights cover icons to make sure yours really stand out.

48. Share your Instagram Story to your Facebook Story

You can do this for individual post, or set it up so all your Instagram Stories automatically our published on Facebook as well.

How to do it for a specific Story:

Start creating a story, then tap Next.

Tap Your Facebook Story.

Tap Share.

How to set up automatic Facebook Story sharing:

Go to your profile and tap the hamburger menu.

Tap Settings.

Tap Privacy and Security > Story Controls.

Next to Share Your Story to Facebook, toggle on to allow sharing.

49. Share a replay of your live video on Instagram Stories

Another feature available to business accounts.

How to do it:

When you finish broadcasting a live video, simply tap Share at the bottom of your screen and the video will be added to your Story.Note: The recording will be available for 24 hours. While it plays, it will display all the comments and likes from the original broadcast. Brands will also be able to see exactly how many people watched the video—both live and in Stories.

50. Share a sneak peak of your Instagram Story

Want to entice your audience to watch the rest of your Instagram Stories? We’ve got a simple trick for that.

How to do it:

Open Instagram Stories and take a photo, or select one from your library by swiping up.

Tap the pen icon in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.

Select a color.

Tap and hold on your screen for 1-3 seconds until the screen is filled with a solid color.

Tap the eraser symbol in the top right corner.

“Erase” the part of the picture you would like to show by swiping or tapping the screen with your index finger.

Tap Your Story to share the finished product.

51. Link to your IGTV video from Instagram Stories

If you’ve just started an IGTV account, give your followers an easy way to find your new content—by sharing it to your Instagram Stories.

How to do it:

In Instagram Stories, select the image you would like to post (a screenshot or a still from your IGTV video).

Tap the link icon on the top right-hand side of your screen and select IGTV video from the Add Link menu.

Select the correct video and tap Done in the top right corner of your screen.

Now your followers can go to your IGTV video by swiping up on your Instagram Story.

Instagram bio and profile hacks

52. Include a hashtag or profile link your bio

You can now link to a hashtag page or another account in your bio.

How to do it:

Tap the profile icon to go to your profile

Tap Edit Profile and go to the bio section

Type # or @ and then a list of recommended hashtags and accounts will appear

Once you select the hashtags and accounts you want, they will linked to in your bio

Note: When you mention someone else’s profile in your bio, they will receive a notification and can choose to remove the link. Their profile will remain in your bio but without a link.

53. Hide photos you’ve been tagged in (or remove the tag entirely)

Has your brand ever been tagged in an image that you’d rather not be associated with? There’s ways to remove it from your profile.

How to do it:

Tap the person icon to visit your profile

Tap the person in a box icon beneath your bio to go to the Photos of You tab

Tap the photo you want to remove from your profile

Tap the three dots icon in the upper right-hand corner and select Photo Options

Select Hide from My Profile or Remove Me From Post if you want to untag yourself

Pro Tip: You can also choose whether or not you’d like tagged photos to appear on your profile. To do it, go to the Photos of You page, tap the three dots icon, select Tagging Options, then choose either Add Automatically or Add Manually.

54. Add line breaks in your bio to make it stand out

If you’d like to break up the block of text that is your bio, this hack is for you. Line breaks are a great way to include info in a visually appealing way.

How to do it on mobile:

Open up a notes app and write out your bio as you’d like it to appear—line breaks included

Select all the text and choose Copy

Open the Instagram app

Tap your profile image icon to visit your profile

Tap the Edit Profile button

Paste the text from your notes app into the bio field

Tap Done to save your changes

How to do it on desktop:

Visit your Instagram profile on the web

Select Edit Profile

Space your bio as you’d like it to appear

Click Submit to save your changes

Note: Whether edited via mobile or on desktop, profiles viewed on desktop will appear without line breaks.

55. Include a link in your bio to drive traffic

Your bio is a great place to drive traffic to your website or another social channel with a link.

56. Make your bio appear in more search results

The name field in your bio is searchable. If you include keywords related to your business in your name, you’ll be more likely to appear in the search results of people looking for businesses in your industry.

How to do it:

Tap on Edit Profile on the top right of your Instagram profile

In the Name section, change the text to include your keywords

Tap Done on the top right corner of your screen

57. Change the alignment of your bio

Tired of the old left screen alignment? There’s a way to center–or even right—align your bio.

How to do it:

Go to your Instagram profile in a web browser (it’s easier than on mobile).

Copy the space between the arrows (not the arrows themselves!): >>⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀<<

Tap Edit Your Profile from your profile page on Instagram

In the Bio field, paste the spaces you copied above before each line of text. Add or delete spaces to align further right or left.

Note: You only have 150 characters for an Instagram bio and each “space” counts as a character.

58. Add special characters to your bio name or caption

Some Instagram profiles have special characters like hearts, stars, and pencils in their Instagram bios. You can have them too!

How to do it:

Open a Word or Google doc.

Start typing your bio. To place a special character, tap Insert, then Advanced Symbol.

Add the icons where you would like them in your bio.

Open your Instagram profile in a web browser and tap Edit Profile.

Copy and paste your bio from the Word or Google doc to your Instagram bio and tap Done when you’re finished.

59. Switch to a business profile to run ads and get analytics

If you’re a brand and still don’t have an Instagram business profile, you’re missing out on key features and insights. Make the switch now.

How to do it:

Go to your profile and tap the hamburger menu

Tap Settings

Tap Account

Tap Switch to Business Account.

We recommend that you connect your business account to a Facebook Page that is associated with your business. This will make it easier to use all of the features available for businesses. At this time, only one Facebook Page can be connected to your business account.

Add details such as your business or accounts’s category and contact information.

Instagram hashtag hacks

60. Find the best (and most relevant) hashtags

How to do it:

Select the magnifying glass icon to visit the Explore tab

Type in a keyword and tap the Tags column

Choose a hashtag from the list

This will take you to a page of posts bearing that hashtag

Above the “Top” and “Recent” portions of the page, there appears a small bar labeled “Related.” Next to this, Instagram will display a list of relevant hashtags that you can swipe through for inspiration (and further research)

61. Follow your favorite hashtags

Great for content inspiration!

How to do it:

Select the magnifying glass icon to visit the Explore tab

Type in the hashtag you want to follow

On the hashtag page click the Follow button

62. Save hashtags for future use

If you often use the same hashtags for every post, save them in a note to save time.

How to do it:

Create a new note in the notes app on your mobile device

Add all of your most-used captions to a running list

Whenever you’re sharing a post, navigate from Instagram to the notes app, copy your text, then paste it in your caption

63. Hide hashtags on your Instagram posts

How to do it—method No. 1:

One easy way to hide your hashtags is to simply leave them out of your caption altogether and put them in a comment below your post

Once you’ve got another comment, your hashtags will be safely hidden in the comments section

How to do it—method No. 2:

Another method is to separate your hashtags from the rest of your caption by burying them beneath an avalanche of line breaks

Simply tap the 123 key when composing a caption

Select Return

Enter a piece of punctuation (whether a period, bullet, or dash), then hit Return again

Repeat steps 2 to 4 at least five times

Instagram hides captions after three lines, so your hashtags won’t be viewable unless your followers tap the more option on your post

Bonus: Download a free checklist that reveals the exact steps a lifestyle photographer used to grow from 0 to 600,000 followers on Instagram with no budget and no expensive gear.

64. Hide Hashtags on your Instagram Stories

You can include up to 10 hashtags on an individual Story, which will greatly increase the number of people who will see it. However, you may not want your Story to look too cluttered. Luckily, there are two easy ways to hide your hashtags and keep your Story looking clean and polished

How to do it, method 1:

After you’ve typed your hashtags out, shrink them to as small a size as possible using your thumb and index finger.

Place a sticker, large emoji, or GIF over them.

How to do it, method 2:

After you’ve typed your hashtags out, shrink them to as small a size as possible using your thumb and index finger.

Tap your hashtags again.

Then tap the ink dropper icon in the bottom left corner.

Tap on the area where you plan to hide your hashtags. This will turn the hashtag text the same colour as the backround, effectively hiding them from view.

Instagram direct messaging hacks

65. Turn off your activity status

If you don’t want your followers to know when you were last active on the app, you can turn off activity status within Instagram Direct Messenger.

How to do it:

Tap the profile icon at the bottom right of your screen

Tap Settings

Scroll down and select Activity Status

Toggle off activity status

66. Send disappearing content to other accounts

How to do it:

From the home screen, tap the camera icon at the top left of the screen. Or swipe right to open the camera. Or open Instagram Direct by tapping the paper airplane icon at the top right of the screen, then tapping the camera icon in the top left

Shoot a photo, video, or Boomerang

Edit it as desired

Tap the > icon at the bottom right of the screen

Choose your recipient OR tap New Group to send your message to several people in a single group chat

Tap Send at the bottom of the screen

Note: If you select multiple recipients without creating a group, each user will be sent the same message separately.

67. Send a live video

You can send your own live video or one you’re watching to a user or group of users.

How to do it:

When shooting a live video, tap the Direct icon (paper airplane) at the bottom of the screen and send your live video to friends (you’ll also have this option when going live with a friend)

Once sent, the recipient will see your live video in their Direct inbox. Friends can only view your video if you’re currently live

68. Edit a friend’s photo and send it back to them

How to do it:

When viewing a photo message from a friend, tap the camera icon at the bottom and capture a reply

Your reply includes a sticker of what you’re replying to

Move and resize it, and add your own twist with stickers, text and drawings

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